The town was bustling in the early morning light. I watched through the window as a river of heads flowed in every direction. Kaleh was still asleep, and he needed the rest more than ever.

  Watching the endless crowd was hypnotizing. They shifted back and forth like waves. I jumped a heavy knock at the door, erratic and powerful.

  “Who is it?” I called, hushed enough to maintain the quiet.

  Agnes burst into the room practically bouncing off her heels.

  “Hey, Leonn I think I’ve got-”

  I put my finger up to my mouth, gesturing to Kaleh’s closed eyes and controlled breath.

  “...right, sorry.”

  She cleared her throat, settling down her excitement before it kills anybody.

  “There’s an auxiliary workshop for the wrath project in the warehouse district... that’s the seventh district.”

  I nodded, “where are we going in district 7?”

  No answer. We’ll have to go looking.

  Marie walked by the door, now ajar from Agnes’ stunning entrance, and she quietly joined us. Her hands vanished behind her.

  “I figured out the location will be marked with another seal. We’ll know when we see it, just have to walk around.”

  So for this mission, I was front and center.

  “Where are we going?” Marie asked, mentally travelling around the room.

  “Don’t feel like you have to. It’s related to the wrath project mystery Agnes’ obsessed about.” I noted.

  She shook her head, folding her arms as she declared “I’m going.”

  I was glad she said so, her sharp eyes could be invaluable...

  Kaleh rose from his bed in a stupor, bracing his hand on the bedpost. He turned to me, and then to Agnes and Marie.

  “...going where? Bah, never mind.”

  He returned, buried under the blanket once more.

  The sounds and smells amplified as we left the giant’s anklet. Alleyways stretched off the main road like arteries. Everyone seemed like they were in a hurry, and we got swept away in the crowd, forced to follow the flow. Despite the presence of street markers, I’d lost track of where the hell we were.

  It was around noon when we finally arrived somewhere open enough to free ourselves from the traffic. A bustling plaza with a central fountain, vendor stalls sprawling end-to-end, and a myriad of people dressed in a greater myriad of clothes.

  Marie pressed her temples under her hood, as if trying to block the unnecessary information out.

  “We’re not getting anywhere useful. The signs have so many markings that I cant tell which ones mean anything.”

  Agnes was busy trying to figure out if her map could help us, shaking it around to force the words off the page.

  “Let’s get some help from the locals. Agnes-”

  “I’ll go ask that courier over there!” She declared, moving before I could even finish.

  Marie looked at me and shrugged, drifting toward a stall as she scanned faces. I spotted a stray guard, leaning against his halberd with empty eyes.

  I tried to approach him non-threateningly.

  “Good morning, sir.”

  He looked over at me, pulling himself up and off his polearm.

  “Can I help you?”

  Everything about his appearance was refined: His boots polished to a mirror shine. His regiment mark gleamed in the light. A beard lined his face, perfectly cut off at the jawline. Though his eyes said he hadn’t been paid enough to care since last winter.

  “You’re gonna want to head south about three blocks, turn and head east at the general store.”

  He placed his free hand on his hip, looking roughly at my destination.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Keep going till the air burns your lungs. Artisan district’s got tar, tannin, what-have-you floating around.”

  Agnes reappeared with new ink stains on her hands.

  “Well, anything useful?”

  I nodded, “lets find Marie and regroup. She’s probably found more directions than both of us.”

  The smell of boiled glue hit my nose like a war hammer. I felt the mixed fumes of tannin and tar entering my lungs with a scalding sensation. The lanterns here were spaced further apart than elsewhere in the city, leaving shadows large enough to hide in. Rows upon rows of small buildings, all marked with house seals, trade markers, and coded symbols.

  “Ooh, look. That one doesn’t match any house seal I know... well I'm not sure actually... Leonn?”

  I glanced over at the door, insignia burned into it.

  “Because that’s the Rohoa noble seal. They’re based in Ervys, and Ervyan seals don’t follow the norms.”

  She grimaced in response. Marie took a further look at the pattern, offering nothing but a simple nod.

  We continued down each street until it ended, and transferred to the next street through the alleyways.

  Gods, we’re looking for a fly in a warehouse.

  Regardless, the district was actually impressive. The grime reminded me of the wharf in Argos, with just a little bit more elbow grease. The all-too-familiar sound of anvils rang in synchrony, forming a discordant melody.

  A couple doors down, I stopped in place.

  “Doesn’t that one look close to the wrath project’s seal?”

  Agnes lit up like a furnace.

  “Oh it totally does!”

  Marie took a glance at it, nose wrinkling slightly.

  “Nope. Tannery. Guarantee those sealed barrels have pelts in them.”

  Regardless, Agnes took a peek through the cracked door, turning to us with a frown.

  “Yeah... tannery.”

  Onward, then.

  Most doors didn’t have relevant seals, and when they did it turned out to be a red herring. My brow sat low on my eyes, and my arms sat pinned at my sides.

  “Is this pointless?” I groaned, much to Agnes’ dismay. “

  What do you mean pointless? This is the conspiracy of a lifetime, why would you say that?”

  She continued to explain how important this mission was, a spiel I’d heard a thousand times.

  Though without that map of her’s we’d have never gotten this far at all.

  “Agnes, shut up.”

  Marie commanded, pausing mid-step with her hand stretched to stop us as well.

  “That one doesn’t connect to the street across from here.”

  She took point, marching into the alleyway as she reached into her sleeve.

  A seal sat scorched onto a thick wooden door. Twisted, incomplete looking as all the coded seals were. It looked somewhat like the Vuudweyen crest, in a way. I glanced at the wall towering over us, and a sudden sense of dread caught in my throat.

  This place is familiar. It shouldn’t be, so why is my chest so tight?

  The light draft suddenly died, and the humidity seemed to drain out of the air.

  “This is it...” Agnes declared.

  She was still bouncing on her heels as we approached, but a little less than before. Marie grabbed the doorhandle and pulled, but it stuck in place. A second try, she pulled to no avail, the bolt rattling within the doorframe.

  I felt something rise in my chest, warning me of a danger yet to reveal itself.

  “Leonn, you mind helping me out here?”

  I flinched for a moment, “...yeah.”

  I grasped the doorhandle, readying my mind and body.

  Whatever we’ve been searching for, we’ve found it.

  The door swung open, metal snapping from within as the deadbolt broke free. Marie drew her knife, slowly inching her way inside as she checked each corner. Agnes filed in after her, gasping at cabinets, a still-burning lantern, and stacks of files sitting on a desk on the far end.

  “Hey, Leonn, are you going to join us?” Agnes turned back to me, eyes open and smile wide.

  Marie did so as well. With a tilted, worried look instead.

  As much as my body told me not to, I stepped inside. The place smelled like iron. A drawer sat open, like someone left in a hurry.

  Agnes rushed over to the desk covered in papers.

  “These are full complete files! Code names... test logs... payment records without the codes!”

  I walked around the room, caked in moisture like I’d been running. A metal box sat alone in the corner.

  “Marie, can you come help me look through these?” Agnes called out.

  “Nope. Gonna watch the door.”

  I walked toward the container, world starting to fade out behind me. It felt cursed, untouchable, incomprehensible. Agnes rambled on about how little dust this place had to be abandoned. I grasped at the heavy lid, prying it off the rest with an unsatisfying groan. Inside sat only a couple pages.

  I was never meant to see these. I shouldn’t be here...

  Project 17 – Wrath.

  Subject arrived in nominal condition.

  My pulse spiked beyond what was reasonable.

  This was the file of the only survivor. I couldn’t pry my eyes away.

  Duke Hanss Vuudweyen reluctant to volunteer son — convinced after

  preliminary demonstration. Subject transported under guard.

  Father?! Why was his name right in front of me? I need to drop these pages and run! Run, now! As I held the papers, they seemed to absorb moisture at the corners, curling inward like a snare.

  Page 2

  Test trial summary. Subject 17.

  “Leonn Vuudweyen”.

  I jumped back, so desperate to unread what I had just seen. My breathing amplified, I had to force my heart back into my chest.

  Agnes paused her search to investigate, sounding as if she were below water.

  “Leonn... what did you find?”

  My entire body was trembling, as if caught in an earthquake. The room spun in multiple directions all at once.

  “...I’m Subject Seventeen.” I barely heard my own voice as I spoke.